Tales from the Bush i: Zambia
Before starting this blog, it would be remiss of me to not say: this trip should not have happened. For the longest time, I was due to go to South Africa for a trekking safari with my friend and expedition leader Timothy “Timo” Heng. Timo was one of the TTI guides from my trip to Peru in mid-2024, and had since gone on to start his own expedition tour company The Outside. I had always wanted to join Timo on one of his trips, but with work and such we could never get the timing right. In the most tragic of circumstances, Timo passed away while on another expedition in Mount Dukono, Indonesia in May this year. An absolute icon of the outdoors community in Singapore, it was a life taken far too soon. In the relatively brief time we had known each other, Timo inspired and encouraged me to dream big, to push myself, and to love being in nature. Rest in peace buddy. You are dearly missed.
Since my first visit with the family all the way back in 2008, Zambia has always held a special place in my heart. It was a trip which set in course many aspects of my life today, including a love of nature and animals, and eventually even my photography journey. 10 years on from my last time in Africa and 18 from my trip to Zambia, the opportunity arose to return. It felt a bit surreal being back, seeing old family friends, staying in the Lion House again (an old mansion adjoined by a lion enclosure, with the den leading into the bar), and having a beer with my dad where my family and I had camped nearly two decades ago. This trip, I ended up staying at two Classic Zambia camps - Kutandala Camp in North Luangwa National Park, and Ntemwa-Busanga Camp in Kafue National Park. Two vastly different terrains, but equally enjoyable experiences.
I don’t have some big narrative or cohesive message to share this time, but I just wanted to share some of my favourite images from a really great trip back to Africa. Will I be back? You can count on it.
Kutandala Camp
Located in North Luangwa National Park, the less famous cousin of South Luangwa, the journey to Kutandala involved multiple planes (including a tiny four seater Cessna) and a 90 minute jeep transfer, bringing you smack-bang into the middle of nowhere. A rather cozy but basic set-up, the camp was situated along the Mwaleshi river, which serves as a vital water and crossing point especially during the dry season. Despite the lack of rain, the vegetation was rather thick and bushy, which made sightings all the more challenging. While we did not get to see the famously elusive black rhinos, we were treated to some other great sightings, including of elephants and lions. Ultimately though, what made this place so special was the fact that we were virtually alone - there was no other camp within a 40km radius of us. We truly had the whole place to ourselves.
One of my favourite sightings from the trip was when we managed to watch an attempted lion hunt. We found the lioness stalking a large herd, while a male lion idly watched from a distance (how lazy!). The herd hard arranged itself in an all-round defence, with the big bulls out front and the calves in the middle. It was a tense standoff, with neither side yielding. Eventually, as the lioness made her move, three bulls charged back at her, driving her away. What made this sighting especially special was that it was in the pitch dark - one of our guides had a pair of infrared binoculars, which meant we could watch the attempted hunt from an iPad without shining a bright light and disturbing the hunt. While it didn’t yield any noteworthy photographs, it was really special being able to spectate safely and without interfering.
My tent from across the Mwaleshi. Despite being in the middle of nowhere, I still had power, a toilet and a (bucket) shower, not to mention a near permanent herd of elephants right outside.
A word on elephants. Ever since my earliest memories, I have loved elephants. I have had multiple elephant birthday cakes, including one of Elmer the Patchwork Elephant. When I was nine, my mum bought me an IKEA elephant plushy (we named Elias), which remains on my bed till today. When I was 12, bathing and riding on an elephant in Sri Lanka was a highlight of my trip. (I have since learned that elephant riding is incredibly cruel and unethical, and I shall not partake in, support, or encourage others to do so.) Needless to say, elephants are my favourite animals. Maybe it’s because they are both big and strong, but also intelligent, empathetic and social creatures - traits we can all aspire to be. Or maybe it’s because need eat up to 300kg of food a day (my hero!).
This was taken right after we had gotten into camp on the first afternoon. The resident big bull came by to rock the tree, causing all the seed pods to drop down. Compared to our land cruiser, you can see just how big this guy is.
If you are a fellow lover of elephants, North Luangwa in mid-September is the place to be. Both in terms of quantity and quality, we had great elephant sightings throughout the trip. So much so that there was a herd of elephants that would come strolling into camp every afternoon, sometimes preventing us from even exiting our tents and heading out for our evening game drive. At certain points, there were at least 6 elephants within a 10m distance to be, including a big bull and a mother with her calf. The bull would try and shake down the tree my tent was connected to, and one evening he even pulled open my bathroom door!
We were just about to walk across the Mwaleshi when we saw these two young males locking tusks. I was only able to fire off this single shot before they disengaged.
At Kutandala, I also got to experience my first walking safari, which was a completely different experience to a game drive. (Fun fact: Zambia is the home of the walking safari, with the first walking safaris taking place in South Luangwa.) You realise just how small and vulnerable you are, and that virtually everything could trample/bite/eat you. Still, it was fun to slow down to look at tracks, and to walk in bush unsuitable for vehicles. We were looking for one of the black rhinos, and we knew we were close given we had found its urine (still wet) and where it had wallowed in the mud. At one point, our guide Ryan also said that there was a baby lion cub in the bush, but by the time I had turned around it had gone back into hiding. Drats.
Our park ranger Davies looking out into the distance, scanning for animals. Given that we were walking, it was required that an armed park ranger accompany us, just in case anything were to happen. His eyes were immediately striking to me, and from the moment we met I was looking for the right opportunity to ask to a portrait of him.
Ntemwa-Busanga Camp
If Kutandala was about the elephants, Ntemwa-Busanga was about the cats. Located along the Busanga plains, I traded thick bush to vast, open plains, filled with the big cats, as well as accompaniment of a variety of antelope. While I was not much of a bird person, we also had some great birding opportunities, and it was fun learning about the different species, ranging from massive herons and fish eagles to tiny bee-eaters. The camp itself was slightly more developed, with a more permanent hut rather than a tent. However this time, instead of elephants, I was warned about a resident hippo which liked to hang out in the evenings next to the wifi hut.
LEFT: A silhouetted eagle sitting perched on a Candelabra tree. ABOVE: A white-fronted bee-eater wrestling with a butterfly. While I didn’t quite manage to catch the moment he caught the bird mid-flight, the bee-eater spent a while trying to get a proper grip of the butterfly, which did eventually manage to escape.
We had spent multiple drives looking in our area for a leopard (apparently there are five in the vicinity of the camp), but we were having no luck. On my last evening drive, we set out early and even had a late sundowner (an excellent idea where one enjoys a refreshing beverage as the sun goes down - a safari tradition) searching, but as the sun set, my hopes were fading also. As dusk arrived and we begun heading back to camp, I noted something in the distance. At first I thought it was a wildcat or something, but then quickly realised it was a leopard. I had mere seconds to get this shot before he disappeared, and to be honest I have no clue how I got a sharp shot, given my shutter speed was at 1/60th of a second. It’s not an award winning leopard shot, but very happy to have gotten something usable.
Somehow, I managed to see three separate lions jumping over water, but this was my favourite. Right out of frame was this cub’s mother, who had just jumped over moments prior. The cub, for whatever reason, was not integrating well into the wider pride, which is why we found the two of them alone.
On my final morning drive, we came across this young male. There was a female ahead who he was trying to follow, but we only got glimpses of her.
One of the biggest antelope, I really like this shot of the sable with the two oxpeckers. I wonder what that oxpecker is telling him to make him smile like that.
